Of Portraits,
Porcelain, and PlacesArtifacts
Associated with Maria Rogers' Family

The exhibit Maria Rogers of Bedford: A Young Woman's Life in
Early Nineteenth
Century New York State provides an introduction to a collection of letters and
artifacts held by
the Bedford Historical Society which pertain to the Maria Rogers-Ambler family of Bedford. The
document collection comprises over forty exchanges written to Maria Rogers between about 1816 and
1827 from
her older cousin by two years, Susan Knapp of Greenwich, Connecticut, with a few
additional letters from
other family members. The intimacies, social gossip, and daily realities which Susan shared
with Maria
offer a rare look into the concerns, interests, and routines of young upper middleclass
women during
the first quarter of the nineteenth century. On a broader scale, the letters provide insight
into many aspects of early American social history such as the development of the Erie Canal,
importance of etiquette, impact of Second Great Awakening, and emergence of tourism. For
the documents
and artifacts displayed, labels and background information minimize interpretation to encourage a
pure and uncomplicated visual and educational experience. Researchers interested in further
detail or access to the collection should contact Bedford Historical Society.

The letters cover much of Maria's maidenhood, the post-War of 1812
"Good Feelings" era,
when American nationalism grew and the country united under one political party. The
exchanges provide some information about Maria in this period. However Maria's
life spread across eighty-three years, witnessing in American history the rise and fall
of Federalism,
Jacksonian America, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Although less is known about Maria
in the
years before and after the letters, ongoing research by Bedford Historical Society provides some
illumination.

Born in 1798 to Sarah and Joseph Rogers, Maria spent much of her adult life in Bedford
after coming to
live with her widowed maternal uncle, Benjamin Isaacs, around 1815. Maria came
from a politically prominent, upper middleclass family with ties to New York and
Connecticut. Benjamin
Isaacs served as a judge in Bedford, a Westchester assemblyman, treasurer for St. Matthews
church, and
trustee of the Bedford Academy while overseeing a modest farm and local store. Another uncle,
"Jed", was a member of the Cincinati who attended a much socially covetted gala
for Layfette
in 1824 and thereafter followed the General to Albany, New York. Maria's maternal grandfather,
Captain Benjamin Isaacs, was a successful businessman, founding member

of the Norwalk, Connecticut Masons, and owner of a large Federal style home.
After Captain Isaacs' death, Maria's grandmother, Sarah Isaacs, married David Bush, owner of a
lucrative gristmill in Greenwich. Although surrounded by moderate wealth and prominence,
the young
Maria likely endured some economic hardship. Her father, Joseph Rogers, faced bankruptcy
in the late eighteenth century and creditor problems shortly before his death around 1819.
Maria lived
with Benjamin Isaacs for about ten years before her marriage in 1827 to Joseph
Ambler of Bedford. On her uncle's death, Joseph Ambler purchased Benjamin Isaacs' house where he
and Maria lived until their respective deaths in 1876 and 1881.

The section A 19th Century Correspondence of Friendship and Family
offers three letters found in the Maria Rogers-Ambler collection. Of the two exchanges
written by Susan Knapp to Maria, one details her trip to Saratoga Springs, anguish over her
grandmother's death, and concern for appropriate etiquette during mourning. The
second reveals Susan's thoughts as she dealt with the loss of her sister and a
female friend. The last letter, written By Benjamin Isaacs, contains a brief summary of
his mid-winter
trip to Albany as well as his response to Maria's apparent inquiry on her
grandfather's willingness to
help her father financially.
The display
A Shared Family History presents the common Rogers and Knapp genealogy through an
interactive family tree, while
Of Portraits, Porcelain, and Places is a photographic exhibit
of artifacts and buildings connected to Maria Rogers.